The backside

On January 14, we hosted a joint 6th birthday party for 16 girls. The following Monday, we began the demolition. There are plenty of daily photos that I could bore you with (it's been a long 15 weeks) but I'll just give you the before and after. 

The old family room was built in '67 felt like it was a trailer stapled to the back of our house. Animals lived in the walls (there was evidence of it being the Ritz for squirrels), there was a strange popping sound that went from outlet to outlet, and we were positive that there wasn't wall insulation (we were wrong). 

The new space has tons of windows and is supremely climate controlled! We went to the 9's on insulation! 

These photos are stolen from my contractor - his camera's better than mine! -Shannon

Family room/entry way- Paint is Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue
Mudroom - Paint is Benjamin Moore Grant Beige (my fave!)
Bathroom - Cole & Son - Fornasetti - Tema e Variazioni

Birdhouses for Birdie

Katy's room has been a work in progress for more than a year now. When she was born,  we nicknamed her Katy Bird. Since then, I've purchased "bird art" for her room. Still, its lacking in decor in a big way.  So a few weeks ago I was on the mecca website (aka as PBK) for all things that are kid room cool and came across these cute multicolored birdhouses.  It was love at first sight. I instantly thought these bird houses would be the perfect addition to my little birdie's room. That said, I know my practical husband would never let me spend $100 on birdhouses for Katy's room. So I did the next best thing. I sent Grampy in Massachusetts an email and told him about my love of these birdhouses and how Katy needed some home made art for her room. Enough said! Grampy was on the project.

Last Friday, two boxes showed up on my doorstep. And the contents-just perfect! Phase I complete.

Phase II begins this weekend and I'm super excited. Our plan is to paint the houses the colors of her room.  In addition, I'm planning to buy some wooden cut out letters of her name to accent each bird house. I'm not really sure how that is going to look so I'm not committing to that idea.

Phase III is finding the perfect place in her room to hang them. I'd like them over her crib, but Ben thinks that's dangerous.  We'll negotiate...
 -Carla